Absorbent article and composite sheet

Abstract

The present invention provides an absorbent article having a composite sheet with a plurality of gathers on an inner surface facing a wearer's body, which fits and adheres comfortably to the wearer's skin. The composite sheet is provided which includes a stretchable non-woven fabric which expands and contracts in at least one direction, a non-stretchable non-woven fabric, a junction which binds intermittently the stretchable non-woven fabric to the non-stretchable non-woven fabric in the stretching direction, and a plurality of gathers which is formed by loosening a unbounded area of the non-stretchable non-woven fabric in a contracted state, and is arranged along a direction intersecting the stretching direction, in which an apex of each gather does not reach the neighboring gather when the gathers lean to one side of the stretchable direction.

1. An absorbent article comprising:
 an absorbent body; 
 a chassis having at least a front body and a back body, and a composite sheet arranged on the chassis, 
 the composite sheet including: 
 a stretchable non-woven fabric which expands and contracts in at least one direction; 
 a non-stretchable non-woven fabric; 
 a plurality of junctions which binds intermittently the stretchable non-woven fabric to the non-stretchable non-woven fabric in the stretching direction; 
 and a plurality of gathers developed in non-bound portions between the junctions, formed of loosened parts of the non-stretchable non-woven fabric while the stretchable non-woven fabric is in a contracted state, along a direction intersecting the stretching direction; 
 wherein each gather is configured in cross section to form a triangle with a longest leg of the triangle formed by the non-stretchable non-woven fabric and a base leg of the triangle formed by the stretchable non-woven fabric, and an apex of one triangle does not reach any part of an adjacent triangle, 
 wherein the gathers are arranged on a skin contacting side during wearing, and 
 wherein the stretchable non-woven fabric includes high-density regions and low-density regions arranged alternatively with each other in a predetermined direction. 
 
     
     
       2. The absorbent article according to  claim 1 , wherein the stretching direction comprises a waist expanding direction of the absorbent article, and each of the gathers is arranged along a direction substantially orthogonal to the waist expanding direction. 
     
     
       3. The absorbent article according to  claim 1 , wherein each of the gathers is disposed in an area comprising a position facing the buttocks of a wearer at wearing. 
     
     
       4. The absorbent article according to  claim 1 , wherein the composite sheet is disposed at a predetermined distance away, in the width direction, from a centerline equally dividing the back body, and at each of a pair of areas that are symmetrical around the centerline. 
     
     
       5. The absorbent article according to  claim 1 , wherein a first gather and a second gather, which is adjacent thereto in the stretching direction of the gathers, are formed not to overlap each other in a case where the first and the second gathers lean. 
     
     
       6. The absorbent article according to  claim 5 , wherein the absorbent article satisfies the following formula in which A is a width in the stretching direction of a junction where the non-stretching non-woven fabric is bound to the stretching non-woven fabric, B is a length in the stretching direction of a region of the non-stretchable non-woven fabric not bound to the stretchable non-woven fabric, and C is a distance in the stretching direction between each of the junctions: B<C+2A. 
     
     
       7. The absorbent article according to  claim 1 , wherein a first gather and a second gather, which is adjacent thereto in the stretching direction of the gathers, are formed not to overlap each other in a case the first and the second gathers lean facing each other. 
     
     
       8. The absorbent article according to  claim 1 , wherein the absorbent article satisfies the following formula in which A is a width in the stretching direction of a junction where the non-stretching non-woven fabric is bound to the stretching non-woven fabric, B is a length in the stretching direction of a region of the non-stretchable non-woven fabric not bound to the stretchable non-woven fabric, and C is a distance in the stretching direction between each of the junctions: B<A+C.